Digital Working Life: Some Introductory Reflections

Abstract

The development of technology and its ensuing impact on society and working life has taken different expressions in the course of history. Historically, the execution and organisation of labour have always been characterised by the technology it has appropriated. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the steam engine contributed to the industrialisation of much of Europe and North America; during the 20th century, the combustion engine and the electric engine coincided with the development of centralised and large-scale production. These processes were based on the core technologies of their era, but they were also processes that were closely linked to an infrastructure that was undergoing change, urbanisation, globalisation and not least the emergence of wage labour and a capitalist commodity market. Social change should be seen as an interaction between technology and the conditions of production. This means that social change can in itself be technologically driven, but it does not mean that technology alone determines social change. Historical changes do not follow any predetermined course; rather, historical changes require human actions. In this special issue, "Digital Working Life", we examine the digitalization of working life. Although none of the authors explicitly discuss historical driving forces, the five articles do revolve around the relationship between the organisation of labour and technological change. All articles also highlight knowledge gaps that the authors believe are